New Scottish left wing party to be set up after Corbyn announcement
He is set to be joined by Zarah Sultana, a suspended Labour MP who quit the party earlier this week, saying she would "co-lead the founding of a new party" with the ex-Labour leader.
Corbyn did not directly confirm he would be co-leading with Sultana, instead saying that "discussions are ongoing" and that he was "delighted" that Sultana "will help us build a real alternative".
(Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA) After Sultana's announcement, Govanhill writer and poet Jim Monaghan wrote on Twitter/X that he is part of the "interim Scottish Secretariat" of the group.
He later went on to clarify that he is part of the working group in Scotland which has been working in Scotland and UK-wide to prepare for the new party.
Monaghan is one of several figures to have shared a statement by Collective Scotland on Saturday evening, which indicated the group is looking to build "a full-fledged electoral alliance of the Scottish left" to run in next year's election.
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It is not clear if this is part of Corbyn's new party or a separate entity.
The statement did not mention the Islington North MP directly, but said that "as the left across Britain comes together to form a new political party, the Scottish left now has a similar opportunity to unite".
It added: "With the SNP stagnant after 18 years of government, with the Labour party a hollow shell of itself, and the looming threat of Reform and the far-right, the time is ripe for a new progressive, left-wing consensus to form in Scotland.
"Collective Scotland is already engaged in discussions towards a conference of progressives and socialists to take place on October 4th in Glasgow. We invite all those groups and parties not already engaged in this project to join us.
"At that conference, we will look to build a full-fledged electoral alliance of the Scottish left to run in the 2026 Scottish parliament elections, and build towards longer-term campaigns in our local communities for the 2027 Scottish local elections.
"In partnership with our left allies, we will seek to present a programme which takes away greed and personal enrichment from Scotland's political structures, and gives renewal to our local public services and democracy."
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The statement continued: "A trend that must be broken in our political traditions is to assume that all politics happens at just Holyrood or one's local council chamber. We want to be more than just an electoral alliance for Scotland's left; we want to be the link to a wider progressive social movement.
"We look forward now, as an autonomous party of Scotland's progressives and socialists, to the coalition and partnerships we must build for all of Scotland's left to succeed, not just as a set of parties, but as a wider movement."
Other figures to have shared the statement include pro-independence outlet Bella Caledonia and the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
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